New Delhi: He might have scored a century in his 50th Test match for India, but Cheteshwar Pujara feels the accomplishment would have tasted sweeter if wife Puja was present in the stands to egg on one of India’s most dependable batsmen in recent times. Pujara hit a fluent 133 to ensure India batted just once in the second Test and ultimately won by an innings and 53 runs.

Taking to Twitter, Pujara got emotional and posted a picture with his wife which read: “Had a memorable #50thtest...thank you all for making it special...missed this face in the stands though. #throwback to good times #lifeline.”

Puja is one of the regulars whenever India play and is seen sitting with Ajinkya Rahane’s wife Radhika.

Earlier, skipper Virat Kohli hailed Pujara as one of India’s best batsmen. "Pujara and Ajinkya are our two best Test batsmen, especially in the middle order. They've been doing so well consistently. Pujara, I would give him more credit because he only plays one format for India. And to be able to have that hunger and passion day in day out, working hard on his game, coming out and having those consistent performances takes a lot of mental strength," Kohli said.

"And he's a guy with a lot of mental strength. He obviously has the game. He knows how to score runs, which is the most important thing. He has evolved massively as a cricketer since then.

"All of us have, but Pujara's game has gone to another level. If you see last season, continuing now, he's got about 1500 runs which is outstanding. All credit goes to how hard he's works on the game, and how he thinks about his game as well," he added.